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[source] “Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship” Written by: Nick Confalone "Sunset Shimmer is shocked to discover that she's been erased from her friends' memories and must search for the magic and… (More)

Do you remember the time you first saw Bridle Gossip, and it struck you as strange that Pinkie, (whose claim to fame was the ability to giggle in the face of fear itself), was suddenly afraid of zebras? Did it strike you as odd that Princess Luna was absent from the Grand Galloping Gala?

My Little Pony has always had its little gaps in logic.

It seems that a lot of bronies have been nitpicking Season 3 to death, and fretting about the current state of the show. It’s normal to be concerned that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic may change, especially when it means so very much to you, but if you ever find yourself actively digging for flaws in the writing, and you come away from episodes feeling upset, you seriously need to stop what you’re doing and take a deep breath.

My Little Pony hasn’t changed. You have.

The show has had imperfections from the very beginning. We used to love My Little Pony all the more because of them! We made memes celebrating the little inconsistencies, and they spread like wildfire all over the Internet. Those memes are half the reason that the brony phenomenon got to be as big as it did in the first place!

The bottom line is this: You get out of an episode exactly what you put into it. If, when you press play, you lean forward with a furrowed brow and prepare to dissect the episode in anticipation of imperfections, you will find exactly what you are looking for. If you approach each episode with an open heart, and expect to see candy colored horses learning about friendship, you too will find exactly what you are looking for.

Think back.

When you first fell in love with the show, did you expect every episode to be perfect? Did you weigh canon against fanon, and complain when an episode didn’t meet your expectations, or were you simply delighted to have found 22 minutes a week worth of warmth, humor, friendship, and smiles?

Try to remember your first pony smile, or the first time you laughed to yourself “did Applejack actually just say the word ‘everypony’?” Remember the first time the show put a catchy song in your heart, or made you shed manly tears.

That feeling right there—that’s why we are all here.

So if you ever find yourself unhappily nitpicking episodes, or getting upset over the behavior of other bronies, or wishing your art/fic/song was popular, or just plain finding any old thing in the fandom to be upset about, do yourself a favor and take the time to stop and remember what brought us together in the first place.

Think about it, and really try to remember that feeling. You’ll be glad that you did.

—Sprocket

Help! My Heart is Full of Pony! is a column featuring reflections on love, tolerance, friendship, and other pony feelz.

Now you can follow Help! My Heart is Full of Pony! at http://heartfullofpony.tumblr.com

It’s a kids cartoon. And as much as I’d like better consistency/continuity, it is still a kids cartoon so my standards aren’t exactly at epic level. If people are really having a problem with this, then I have to wonder if they’re alright. Because no one should expect a really high level of due diligence in a children’s cartoon show.

SFK

I wish everyone would just enjoy the show.

Anonymous

Disagree with this pink glassed sentiment. Nothing has changed.

Remember the storm that was caused by FPK, season 1.
Remember reaction on MMDW, season 2.

We haven’t changed even a bit. And it’s not just we. As it turned out, Polsky(FPK) and Merrywether(MMDW) didn’t change either. It’s not a big surprise that Spike at Your Service(both Polsky and Merrywether) was bashed.

StatManDan

Thank You. I think we should just enjoy the show. It reminds me of the Animaniacs’ “Get A Life Foundation” sketch where they went after fans who nitpicked every detail. Even some of the best films have had their flubs.

Oh yes, the skit! “Visit the please, please, please get a life foundation!!”. Personally, I don’t think much about those inconsistencies. I watch the show not to dissect it, but just to enjoy it. And just because I could realize inconsistencies after watching an episode doesn’t mean that automatically dimminishes my enjoyment of the show… in fact, finding about those errors is fun xD

Also, as Sprocket says: “The bottom line is this: You get out of an episode exactly what you put into it. If, when you press play, you lean forward with a furrowed brow and prepare to dissect the episode in anticipation of imperfections, you will find exactly what you are looking for.”

Spike at Your Service brought so many mixed reactions it blew my mind. I completely enjoyed the episode and even found it to be one of my favorites so far. And what do I see later in the comment sections? : ”OMG Spike is so out of character!”, ”Such a predictable plotline!”, ”They’re not even trying anymore!”

Seriously, guys? I even had to write massive comment in the episode follow up on EQD to help calm down people’s jimmies.

Very nice article, Sprocket. I just wish I had a way to make everyone read it.

Jody Morgan

It’s the complaints about “predictable plot” that really amuse me; nearly all the episodes have had predictable plots, even popular episodes like “Winter Wrap Up” and “Suited for Success”. Heck, the most predictable episode of season 3 so far has been “One Bad Apple”, and that didn’t stop it from being one of the most popular. “Spike at Your Service” was somewhat more predictable than usual, and there were a few other problems, but the good stuff definitely outweighed the bad IMHO.

PCP2443

I agree, its not the show thats changed, its the viewer, many fans are out of their “Honey Moon” Phase, where they will blindly like the show because its new and something they love, this happens with everything, not just ponies. As time goes on we become more critical with the media we consume, even the media we like & enjoy. Sadly while criticism itself is not bad, many fans lack to properly critique the media they view, read, play,etc is the main reason so many fanbases online are as horrid as they are. I fear Bronies may very well soon become as intolerable to their fellow fans as Anime fans, Gamers, etc have in the past.

I think its important for people to remember, this is overall an All-Ages/Childrens program, the fact its as good as it is, well thats a miracle in and of itself. I for one am fairly easy to please when it comes to cartoons, because, well, good TV animation is hard to find, i’m not gonna bite the hand that feeds me when I find it, even if every episode isn’t perfect. MLP:FIM, like AT & Regular are some of the best toons on TV ATM, and I for one will continue to support them as long as they run!

Another thing worth nothing is many so called “fans” are only into something because its trending, I think a lot of Bronies/Pegasisters, as well as fans of any other newer series need to take a good honest look at themselves and ask weather they are a true fan, or just a fan because its convenient & the media they are viewing is something relevant. Hopefully many will find that they are, but i’m sure others will decide they were not.

In closing, just know, weather you remain a fan or not, ponies will always be there for you! *Brohoof*

Present Perfect

What’s different is that season 1 painted a single vision of Equestria that has changed with the addition of further seasons. They feel like extras rather than part of the unified whole, partly because of the time gaps in between each, and partly because sometimes, they contradict each other. When something happened in season 1, it was, “Oh, that’s how it is!” When something happens in seasons 2 or 3, we have something to compare it to. Some events reaffirm what’s been done, some add to the world, and some outright contradict. I still can’t reconcile the Ponyville of Mysterious Mare Do Well with that of… pretty much any other episode that takes place there. If I could chalk it up to anything, it would be season 1 coming whole cloth from the mind of one person. At least, that’s how I assume it happened; it’s really hard to make any judgments at all about the inner workings of a show, after all.

The fandom completely and utterly idolized her, to the point where commenters say really intimate stuff like “Ha, it’s no wonder Lauren left!” like they’re old personal friends. Now that she’s gone, some fans have to try and “prove” the show isn’t as good, because to accept that it *IS* still at the same level of quality would be to deny the impact Lauren Faust had on the show and, by extension, on them.

Anonymous

I agree totally what have you wrote. It’s not the show that has changed or got worse…. we are…

Some people dislike what you like, others like what you dislike. It’s freaking Internet, don’t be such a goddamn whiny brony about it.

Jon the Red

That goes for this article as much as it goes for the angry naysayers. Everyone has their opinion on this episode and that; it’s the people that try to make broad statements about the whole show that are dumb. “There hasn’t yet been a Season 3 episode that I liked as much as [whatever episode from an earlier season]” is a valid opinion; “this show is going down the crapper” is not. After all, you never know when you’ll find an episode you like!

Anonymous

My only concern is will this be the last season? I’ve heard a rumor that it was, but I hope it’s just that, a rumor and nothing more :3

I still end up consistently enjoying every episode I watch. Then I go to look at comments in order to share in the collective enjoyment – the natural human reaction of, “wow, wasn’t that awesome!?!” and usually get discouraged.

I’m just going to have to limit my fandom interactions. Of course, that just reminds me of the time, back when I first started watching in August of 2011, of how all I had to do to keep from getting extraordinarily frustrated was to stay off of imageboards. This was easy, as I was never into imageboards. Now, it’s not so much. Even bronyville isn’t as positive or family-friendly anymore.

Ah, such is life. Maybe I’ll have more time for homework or writing my own songs and making my own fandom. With blackjack. And hookers. Aw, forget the whole thing.

;)

Verdon

I wonder if this article is still useful for S6, I think it has received the same treatment… Mmmh, I don’t know